DeSantis adds seven counties to Florida flood emergency; weather service forecasts major flooding on St. Johns River near Cocoa

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Executive Order 26-228 on Wednesday, Nov. 4, adding Glades, Hendry, Lake, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, Seminole and Volusia counties to the state of emergency for this week's flooding.¹ With the seven counties named Monday, Nov. 2, in Executive Order 26-227, the emergency now covers 14.²

The new order says parts of Palm Beach County, including Riviera Beach, received “over 19 inches within a twelve-hour period.” It says weather service forecasts show the St. Johns “will experience minor to moderate flooding which could last several weeks.” It expires when Order 26-227 does; that order runs 60 days from Nov. 2 unless extended.¹²

St. Johns River gauges

Stages are the latest readings the federal river pages showed when SignalData opened them at 4:16 p.m. Wednesday. Forecasts date from 8:52 a.m. for Cocoa and 9:22 a.m. for the others.

• Near Cocoa (Brevard): 16.77 feet at 3:15 p.m., moderate. Forecast 17 feet, major, by 1 p.m. Friday, holding there through 7 a.m. Monday. Moderate starts at 16.5 feet, major at 17.³ The Melbourne office's 9:06 a.m. warning changed the forecast from moderate to major.⁴
• Above Lake Harney (Seminole): 8.62 feet at 3:30 p.m., minor. Forecast 9.8 feet, moderate, by 7 a.m. Monday. Major starts at 10.⁵ The warning says more rises are possible.⁶
• Near Sanford (Seminole): 5.11 feet at 3:30 p.m., action stage. Forecast to reach 5.5 feet, the start of minor, by 1 p.m. Thursday and 6.4 by 7 a.m. Monday.⁷⁸
• Near DeLand (Lake, Volusia): 3.99 feet at 3:30 p.m., action stage, against a 4.0-foot flood stage. Forecast 4.7 feet, minor, by 7 p.m. Sunday.⁹¹⁰
• At Astor (Lake, Volusia): 3.31 feet at 3:30 p.m., moderate. Forecast to ease to 3.2 feet, then reach 3.4 by 1 a.m. Monday.¹¹¹²

At 4:16 p.m., the active alerts list showed no flood warning from the Jacksonville office.¹³

The St. Johns River Water Management District said conditions in its Middle and Ocklawaha basins could stay elevated for several weeks, Florida Today reported.¹⁴ Volusia County has free self-serve sandbags at Fire Rescue Station 36 in Osteen, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, ClickOrlando reported.¹⁵

Deaths, shelters and schools

Palm Bay Mayor Rob Medina reported two deaths in the city on Tuesday and said crews had rescued hundreds of people since Sunday, ABC News reported.¹⁶ Lt. Gov. Jay Collins also cited two that day, ClickOrlando reported;¹⁷ it reported Wednesday that no official cause had been confirmed.¹⁸

Palm Bay declared a local emergency effective 5 p.m. Nov. 2. Its website also showed an undated shelter-in-place notice Wednesday afternoon; SignalData found no city record of when it was issued or whether it was lifted.¹⁹²⁰ Brevard County said Wednesday that South Mainland Community Center in Micco is open as a pet-friendly shelter, along with the Red Cross shelter at Wickham Park Senior Center.²¹

Brevard Public Schools will reopen Thursday, with possible bus delays and a boil water notice through week's end at some campuses on Melbourne's water system, Fox 35 and ClickOrlando reported from the district's announcement.²²¹⁸ St. Lucie schools stay closed Thursday and are expected back Friday, WPTV reported.²³ The state education page, last updated at 1:30 p.m., lists Indian River closed through Thursday and DeSoto reopening Thursday.²⁴

What the records do not show

• A federal declaration. FEMA's list shows Florida's newest as Hurricane Isaias, DR-4955, on Oct. 27.²⁵ At 4:12 p.m., FEMA's data returned no later one for Florida.²⁶
• A request for one. None appeared on the state emergency division's pages or in searches; an unposted request may exist.²⁷
• Order 26-228 on the governor's list, where 26-227 was newest. The state emergency division's flooding page posts it.²⁸²⁷
• A city or county record of the deaths. Palm Bay's news list and Brevard's press releases list none, so the count rests on the credited reporting.²⁰²⁹
• Brevard Public Schools' own notice. Its site could not be opened.
• Damage totals.